An outboard engine includes an internal combustion engine and a cowling covering the engine and other components of the power head so as to prevent them from being damaged by water, salt, wind and other such exterior elements. The combustion process of the engine is enabled by drawing air from outside the cowling into the engine housed inside the cowling. This air drawn from outside is often mixed with a significant amount of water which needs to be removed before air enters the combustion chambers. The wet air drawn in from the exterior of the cowling is often forced to flow along a circuitous path (“labyrinth” or “chicane” for example) having one or more direction changes in order to remove water from the air.
Air travelling along circuitous and long paths in the engine compartment remains in contact for a longer time with components of the power head which are typically hot during operation of the engine. Thus, air entering the combustion chamber after flowing along a long circuitous path inside the engine compartment, although relatively free from water, may be relatively hot compared to air outside the engine compartment. As such, the circuitous airflow path has the undesirable effect of heating the air flowing into the combustion chamber, which could reduce the power output by the engine.
It is thus desirable to provide an air intake system for an outboard engine that does not cause a large increase in air temperature while still reducing the water content of the air.